


Home For Christmas

by magicandarchery



Category: The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: All Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Holidays, M/M, Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-06
Updated: 2016-12-06
Packaged: 2018-09-06 21:22:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8769820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicandarchery/pseuds/magicandarchery
Summary: It’s Christmas Eve and Alec is just trying to get home to his family to celebrate Christmas when he suddenly finds himself stranded in the airport, frantically searching for any other way to get home. With the help of a kind military serviceman named Luke, can Alec make it home in time for Christmas?Inspired by this lovely version of I’ll Be Home For Christmas.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you, thank you, thank you to [Jackie](https://twitter.com/Author_Jackie) for all of your help in not only enabling this fluffy as all hell idea, but also for all the other tips/advice/ideas on parenting you gave me.

Alec hated traveling over the holidays.

He especially hated traveling the day before a major holiday. Everyone was tense and trying to rush through security and to their gates, to keep children in line and from melting down and throwing tantrums. Alec was at least happy that he was traveling by himself, on his way home to his kids.

Alec bypassed baggage check since he was traveling light with just a carry on sized suitcase. He pulled his phone out as he stood in the security line, checking in on the few emails that had trickled in overnight and very early that morning, as well as the stream of photos from Magnus in his text messages of Max and Rafael in a series of silly poses (or sassy, in Rafael’s case), dressed in Christmas pajamas. The end of the thread was a quick video of the boys wishing him a goodnight, complete with kisses blown his way.

It made Alec’s heart expand until he was certain it would burst out of his chest and he wished he had seen it before going to bed the night before.

He pocketed his phone again as he reached the security stand and handed over his boarding pass and his photo I.D., getting into line at one of the security screening points. Once he was through he navigated through the crowd of people and to the concourse.

Despite the weather outside, the departures board still showed Alec’s flight as leaving on time, even though the forecast didn’t show the heavy snow falling outside would be letting up anytime soon. He desperately hoped it would stay that way. The last thing he wanted to do was to miss Christmas with his family.

With some time to kill, Alec stopped at a Starbucks on the concourse, ordered a large black coffee, miraculously found an empty table to sit at, and settled his carry on beside his feet as he reached into his pocket for his phone.

He plugged in his earbuds and pulled up FaceTime, and the scene that greeted him when Magnus answered was of Magnus shaking his head as he told Max to go brush his teeth and he’d be in to get him dressed in a minute.

Alec grinned at the screen when Magnus finally looked at him. “It looks like you’ve got your hands full.”

“Only because I can’t get my hands on what I really want to get them on until later tonight.” Magnus winked at him and looked up as one of the boys, which Alec recognized from his voice to be Rafael, asked a question that Alec couldn’t make out. “I put jeans and a sweater on your bed earlier, why don’t you just wear that?” Magnus asked Rafael off screen.

Alec just grinned. He could imagine Magnus trying to chase after Max to get  him ready for Isabelle and Simon’s Christmas open house and Rafael scrutinizing every piece of clothing in his closet to find _just the right thing_ to wear regardless of what Magnus had laid out for him. “Because he’s your son.”

Magnus wanted to argue with Alec. But Alec was right. Even though both Max and Rafael had been adopted, Max tended to be quieter, didn’t fuss too much over things like clothes, and was generally happy to just wear something comfortable like Alec. Rafael, on the other hand, had already developed a love of designer clothing and Magnus had no one to blame but himself.

“So, when do you take off?” Magnus asked, changing the subject as he reached up and adjusted his ear cuff.

“Just over an hour,” Alec answered and mentally added a _hopefully_.

Magnus glanced up at something happening off screen quickly and then back at Alec. “So you’ll meet us at Simon and Izzy’s?”

Alec reached for his coffee and took a quick drink. “Yeah, I’ll come there straight from the airport.”

“Okay. I have to go get Max cleaned up and ready so that I still have time to finish getting Raf ready. Let me know when you land.”

“You know I will,” Alec smiled as Magnus glanced down and then the video was shifting to show Max, still in his pajamas, hair a complete mess.

“Hi, Daddy,” Max waved, “when are you gonna be home?”

Alec smiled at Max. “I’ll be home soon. Go get ready and I’ll see you at Aunt Izzy and Uncle Simon’s okay?”

“Okay,” Max nodded and blew a kiss to the screen before disappearing from the frame again and this time Alec was certain that, yes, his heart really was going to swell out of his chest.

“I’ll see you in a few hours,” Alec said as the the video turned to Magnus again, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Alexander.” Magnus said before ending the call.

Alec pocketed his phone again and pulled out his laptop to clean up his inbox before signing off of work for the holiday.

He sipped his coffee slowly as he signed in and his email began loading. At the very top of his inbox was an email from Valentine Morgenstern with a very long list of follow up items from their meeting the day prior. Morgenstern and Morgenstern was his company’s largest client and Alec could never get out of meeting with either Valentine or his son Sebastian right before Christmas. To be honest, if they were truly able to get their way Alec would have been meeting with them on Christmas day.

He was seriously considering moving the account to someone else in his consulting firm but he almost hated to inflict Valentine and Sebastian on anyone else. That was something he would have to give more thought to once the holidays were over.

As Alec was reading through the list of items Valentine was requesting (all of which seemed impractical to him), an announcement came over the system above him. It was likely for a passenger on standby, he convinced himself, and continued to read through the email.

“Attention passengers. Flight 992 to JFK New York has been delayed.”

As the announcement repeated itself, Alec closed his eyes. The weather was horrendous, he knew it had been a possibility when he had checked in, but this could not be happening. It couldn’t be real.

And yet, as he pulled up his web browser, waited for the airport’s website to load, and typed in his flight information for the status, he knew it was.

The large ‘DELAYED’ next to his flight that displayed on the screen just confirmed it.

He pulled up the weather app on his phone and checked the hourly forecast. There was no indication that the snow and freezing temperatures were going to pass over any time soon.

And why couldn’t this have come ten minutes earlier when he was talking to Magnus? When he had told Max he would be home in time to see them at Isabelle and Simon’s open house? Alec forced himself to take a deep breath as he reached for his coffee.

While one side of him was busy cursing Valentine Morgenstern for being so insistent on meeting during the holidays, the logical part of him took over. This was what he did for a living. He saw problems and found solutions. Surely there would be a solution to this.

He just had to start looking for it.

—

Magnus stood in his closet after checking in on Rafael, who wasn’t as far behind in getting ready as Magnus had expected. Rafael was at least mostly dressed and was just debating now about whether to wear a sweater or a vest over his black and white patterned button down shirt. Magnus knew that could take hours to work out on its own,  but as long as Rafael was ready when they needed to leave Magnus was willing to let him get ready on his own because it afforded Magnus a small window of time to get himself ready.

He could hear his phone pinging in the living room as he scanned his wardrobe for what to wear, deciding on black pants, a silk button up shirt with a high neck and a gray and silver pattern on it, and a black vest. He finished off the look with his usual variety of chokers, necklaces, and rings. His phone had started pinging only a few minutes after his FaceTime with Alec and had seemed to be pinging nonstop since. He should have probably checked it but as he got dressed, it wasn’t high on his list of priorities.

He honestly didn’t know how single parents did this day in and day out, all completely on their own. He was hoping just to make it out of the house at a reasonable time with Max and Rafael still looking halfway put together and with matching shoes.

Magnus moved into the bathroom and applied a layer of foundation over his face and smudged some charcoal eyeliner over his lids before working on his hair. Chairman Meow supervised from beside the sink, purring softly. In the mirror’s reflection, Magnus could see Max on his and Alec’s bed, laying on his stomach, his feet up in the air as he played a game on the iPad.

 _At least he won’t get messy_ , Magnus thought as he worked pomade into his hair, spiking it high in the front and spraying it liberally with hairspray to keep it in place.

Magnus checked himself in the mirror again. If Alec were home, Magnus would have done more, would have worked through his entire makeup regimen, would have maybe added some red and green or silver and gold streaks to his hair to be festive. But since Alec wasn’t there, and because they were only really seeing family and close friends, Magnus decided that this was enough and that it would have to do.

He turned away from the counter and flipped off the light, prompting Chairman to jump off of the vanity and land gracefully on his feet, only to jump up on the bed and curl up next to Max.

Add lint rolling cat hair off of clothes to the list of things Magnus needed to do before they left.

“Raf, you have ten minutes until we leave!” Magnus called out through the hallway as he started to round up shoes and coats.

“I can’t do my hair in ten minutes!” Rafael called back and Magnus closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. A seven year old should not be so focused on having his hair perfect.

But Magnus deviated from rounding up shoes and coats and turned into the boys’ bathroom to see Rafael with various products scattered on the countertop.

Magnus stood behind Rafael and gently combed his fingers through his son’s thick, dark hair. “What do you want to do with it?”

“Anything but spikes, I guess,” Rafael answered with a shrug.

Magnus reached for a comb and set to work on styling Rafael’s hair, deciding to leave it soft and somewhat fluffy but still perfect to Rafael’s standards, which was that not one hair was out of place.

Magnus ushered Rafael out of the bathroom and down the hall toward the entryway to put his coat on. “Max, let’s get ready to go!”

Magnus circled into the living room and gathered up Max’s shoes into one hand and his phone in the other, only to see that he had missed text messages from Alec as his lock screen lit up.

 _Delayed. Not sure how long._ He had sent that forty minutes ago.

 _Looks like I may not make it to Izzy’s, but trying to find alternate ways home._ Sent ten minutes ago.

Magnus found his head spinning. Foggy in the sense that he knew this was real but was very much hoping this was all just a terrible, awful dream he was going to wake up from at any moment to find that Alec was home, tag teaming the task of getting the boys ready with him.

“Papa, look! I did my hair!” Max announced proudly as he emerged from the master bedroom, drawing Magnus out of his thoughts.

While he had been left alone, Max had somehow managed to get into Magnus’ hair products and his hair was now spiked up in all different directions. All Magnus could do was stare and blink at the wild hairstyle his five year old had crafted.  He wanted to yell. He wanted to scream. He wanted to simultaneously curse at and apologize to whatever higher power he had pissed off.

But instead he just took a very, very deep breath and slid his phone into his back pocket as he crouched down in front of Max and started putting his boots on. On another day he may have fought that battle, but today Magnus was going to let it go.

“You know you aren’t supposed to get into mine or Daddy’s stuff without us to help you,” he said calmly as he tied the laces on the first of Max’s boots.

Max merely held on to Magnus’ shoulder for balance and turned his head down, and Magnus caught the way his smile disappeared as he did. “I wanted to do my hair like you and Raf.”

Magnus finished tying the laces on Max’s other boot. “Well, then we’ll have to wear earmuffs instead of hats so it doesn’t get ruined. How’s that sound?”

Magnus smiled when Max’s face lit up again and kissed his forehead before standing and reaching for his phone so he could book an Uber. “Okay, coats and gloves on.”

He just hoped they wouldn’t keep the Uber driver waiting too long.

—

Alec’s coffee had gone cold while he sat on hold with yet another airline, trying to find any way out of D.C. and back home to Brooklyn. He didn’t expect any different answer than he had received from the other airlines he had called. Flights were grounded indefinitely until such a time as the weather improved enough to keep the planes de-iced and the runways plowed.

He had yet to hear from Magnus, and even though Alec knew he had his hands full with the boys it was worrying that Magnus hadn’t replied to either of his text messages. Alec was fully expecting Magnus to be closed off and cynical when he got home, the way he was any time he was angry, even if he knew that Alec had no control over the situation and would have rather been home. Magnus had given up traveling for work during the holidays when they had adopted Max. Alec had never asked him to, it was a decision Magnus had come to on his own, and they had never discussed Alec’s business travel because until today it had never been an issue, had never threatened to encroach on Alec’s time with his family.

Alec was not looking forward to discussing it with Magnus.

“Okay, thank you.” Alec sighed as he was once again told by a weary customer service representative that all of their airline’s flights out of D.C. were grounded. He ended the call and stared at the photo of he and Magnus from their wedding on his home screen. He set the phone down on the table beside his laptop, finished off what was left of his now cold coffee with a grimace, and ran his hands over his face as he huffed out a very deep breath of frustration.

Alec turned his attention to his laptop and started looking to the next obvious way home — albeit the least safe at the moment — and hoped that there may be rental cars still available.

“I don’t mean to intrude,” a smooth, deep voice said and Alec looked up from his computer screen to see a very handsome black man in military uniform standing in front of him, “but would you mind?”

Alec watched as the man gestured with a strong hand to the empty chair across from him. Had it been any other time Alec likely would have denied the request, but it was Christmas Eve and with the sheer number of people who were now filling into the Starbucks, seating was at a premium. “No, go ahead.”

“Thanks.” The man smiled a friendly smile as he sat. “Luke,” he introduced himself and extended his hand to Alec.

“Alec,” he answered and took Luke’s hand, shaking it firmly as his phone buzzed beside him. He glanced down and saw a message from Magnus.

 _Finally_ , Alec thought as he opened the message and saw a photo of Magnus, Max, and Rafael packed tightly together, showing off their best frowning faces. Alec was certain he saw actual tears streaking Max’s cheeks. As he looked at the picture another message came through.

_Just get home safe. We’ll wait to celebrate Christmas until you get here._

It tugged at Alec’s heart in a way he hadn’t expected, made it ache more than he thought it would and Alec made a promise to himself right then and there that they would never have to wait to celebrate Christmas, this year or any other. As soon as the new year rolled around, he was going to offload the Morgenstern account to someone else. He had done his time and his family was paying the price now.

“I’m not trying to pry, but is everything okay?” Luke asked and sipped his latte.

“Oh, yeah,” Alec laughed lightly as he turned the phone around to give Luke a quick glimpse of the photo, “just my husband and kids on the way to my sister’s Christmas open house.” Alec looked back at the photo again. “I was supposed to meet them there.”

Luke nodded as he took another slow drink of his latte. “Mm, I feel you. I’ve spent far too many Christmases away from my girls.”

There was a familiarity to Luke that Alec couldn’t put his finger on, as though Alec had known him for years. Maybe it was that Luke understood the feeling of so badly wanting to be home with your family, yet not being able to be there, but it didn’t feel as though that was the reason for the familiarity. There was something else behind it that Alec couldn’t place no matter how hard he wracked his memory.

Alec excused himself and got back into line for more coffee. Once he was refilled he rejoined Luke, who now had his own laptop out, back at the table. “So where are you headed?”

Luke looked up at Alec as he waited for his laptop to start up. “Ultimately New York, but I didn’t find out until a few days ago that we’d be on liberty for the holidays, so the only flights left were ones with crazy layovers.”

“Yeah, I’m going home to New York too.” Something told Alec that the destination wasn’t a coincidence but he left it alone and drank his coffee slowly as he returned to his rental car search. He had found one company that still had cars available, but as he checked the road conditions and saw the numerous closures between D.C. and Brooklyn Alec realized that it would potentially take him longer to drive home than it would to wait out the storm and take his original flight.

That didn’t mean he was going to stop searching.

—

Magnus stood in the kitchen of Isabelle and Simon’s apartment. Isabelle had outdone herself, as usual, with the decorations that seemed to be everywhere, a fusion of her Christmas decorations with Simon’s Hanukkah ones, without making the apartment feel overly done up for the holidays, and the spread of food was impressive as always. Magnus didn’t know how long it took her to plan and prepare everything on top of studying for medical school.

Magnus looked out into the living room to see Clary sitting on the floor by the coffee table, drawing with Max while Rafael sat and watched. There hadn’t been any good way for him to tell them that Alec wasn’t going to be at Simon and Isabelle’s and that it was possible that he might not be home to celebrate Christmas. He had tried to make sure that they knew that this wasn’t anything Alec had any control over — which wasn’t entirely accurate since Alec did have some control over traveling for work during the holidays, but that was a conversation that he and Alec would have to have and that the boys didn’t need to be brought into.

Max had started to cry, which he did when he was scared or anxious about something. Rafael had just nodded and got quiet and when Magnus had tried to coax him into discussing it, Rafael had just answered with a shrug and an ‘I’m fine’. Magnus decided to let it be at that point since Rafael was going through his ‘big kids don’t do this’ phase. Rafael would open up about it when he was ready to and all Magnus could do was wait.

“So how long is Alec delayed?” Jace asked, nibbling on shrimp.

Magnus could only shrug as he swirled his hot cider around in its mug. “I’m not entirely sure. Long enough that if he does make it home, it likely won’t be until very late tonight or very early tomorrow morning.”

“Have you heard anything from him since his original text?” Isabelle asked as she returned to the kitchen after making the rounds with her guests, as any good and gracious hostess would do.

“Just that he can’t find an alternate flight out, which doesn’t surprise me.” Magnus shrugged. “I just don’t see any way he’s going to make it home in time.”

Jace looked at Magnus empathetically. “I’ve told him for the last five years I would take on the Morgenstern meeting, but you know how Alec is.”

Yes, unfortunately, Magnus knew all too well how Alec was. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe anyone else could handle the Morgenstern account, there were plenty of good people in Alec’s firm that could. But once Alec was involved in something he had a difficult time giving the assignment up, for one reason or another and Magnus had heard them all.

Magnus turned his attention away from Jace when Rafael approached him, his hands in his pockets.

“Papa, can I use your phone? I want to call Dad.” Rafael asked, looking up at Magnus with large, dark brown eyes that gave away just how much he missed Alec, just how worried he was. It wasn’t what a child Rafael’s age should be feeling on Christmas Eve.

Magnus reached into his pocket and unlocked the phone before handing it to Rafael. “Just make sure that if Max wants to talk to him, you let him.”

Rafael nodded as he took the phone and silently walked out of the kitchen. He didn’t walk back into the living room where Clary and Max were still drawing; instead, he ducked into the empty guest bedroom and closed the door before climbing on the bed, feet dangling over the edge, and started a new FaceTime call, just hoping that Alec would answer.

And he did, smiling at Rafael. “Hey, kiddo.”

“Hi, Dad,” Rafael choked out, trying his best to not cry. He was a big kid and big kids didn’t cry.

But even over FaceTime Alec could see the storm of conflicting emotions in Rafael’s eyes. “Everything will be okay, Raf. I’m trying to find a way to get home tonight before you go to bed.”

“Can we stay up until you get home?” Rafael wondered, feeling comforted at seeing Alec, hearing his voice, knowing that he was okay.

Alec laughed softly. Magnus would kill him, and rightfully so because Alec would probably do the same if the tables were turned, but if it made Rafael and Max feel better, Alec was absolutely willing to let them bend the rules of bedtime for just one night. He was positive that neither of them would be able to stay awake much past their normal bedtime anyway. “Okay. Tell Papa I said it was fine.”

Rafael looked up as the door opened and Max poked his head in, his hair still wild and crazy. “Raf? Are you in here?”

“Yeah,” Rafael answered. “I’m talking to Dad.”

Max sprinted into the room and jumped onto the bed next to Rafael, bouncing a couple of times on the mattress. “Hi, Daddy! I did my own hair!”

“It looks awesome, buddy!” Alec smiled. Oh, he could only imagine the look on Magnus’ face when Max had debuted that particular hairstyle. “I’m sorry to cut this short, but my battery is dying. I _will_ see you soon.”

“Okay, Daddy,” Max waved and Rafael nodded.

“I love you both.”

“Love you too,” Rafael and Max said together and then the call was over.

There was silence between the two brothers for a moment before Max turned his head up to Rafael. “Raf? What happens if Daddy can’t come home?”

Rafael just shrugged as he stared at the phone in his hand, the screen where Alec’s face had just been now black. “I dunno.”

—

Alec tried to hide just how much his heart was breaking after ending the call with Max and Rafael. He kept his eyes on the phone in his hand for a few moments longer than necessary before focusing them on his computer screen, now more determined than he had been before to find a way home. But he had been searching and searching nonstop since the announcement of the delay and had kept hitting dead end after dead end.

All flights were grounded.

He could rent a car, but with so many closures and awful driving conditions he couldn’t risk it.

He had considered taking a bus home but it would only run into the same closures as if he were driving.

He glanced up to find Luke looking at him with understanding over his laptop. Alec wondered if the feeling of dread settling in his stomach was evident on his face. Though he had been careful with the words he chose when speaking to Max and Rafael so that he didn't get their hopes up, he was running out of time to keep his promise to himself.

“Rafael is seven,” Alec started to explain.

Luke held up his hands to stop Alec from feeling obligated to explain having a conversation with his kids. “I've had similar conversations with my daughter,” he paused, “well, technically she's my stepdaughter but I'm the only father she's ever known.”

Out of everyone that could have asked to share his table, Alec felt a sense of peace that it was Luke. He still couldn't place how Luke felt like someone he should know, or had known for several years, but he was certain now that nothing about Luke sharing his small Starbucks table was coincidence.

“You said you were going to New York?” Luke asked, raising his eyes up from his laptop screen again.

“Yeah. Brooklyn specifically,” Alec answered as he dropped his attention back to the laptop. He was running low on battery there as well. He was going to have to find a way home soon.

Luke turned his laptop around for Alec to see his screen. “I think I found a way for both of us to make it home tonight.”

—

It was past dinnertime when Magnus closed the door of the Uber. He took hold of Max’s hand as Rafael walked slightly ahead of them toward the door to their building. Magnus hadn’t intended on staying at Simon and Isabelle’s for as long as they had stayed, but Max and Rafael had fallen asleep in the living room while watching “Rudolph” and Magnus had to admit that it was good to be around Isabelle, Simon, Jace, and Clary. It had taken his mind off of the situation and partially calmed his nerves to be with family instead of at home, where all he would have done was think about whether or not Alec was going to find a way home.

However, it wasn’t helping his nerves that he hadn’t heard from Alec all afternoon, had no idea whether or not he had managed to find a way home or if he was going to be spending Christmas Eve away from them.

The lobby of the building wasn’t busy but it wasn’t completely deserted when they stepped inside and out of the freezing cold evening. They were almost to the elevator bay when Rafael stopped suddenly and Magnus had to be quick to keep himself from colliding with Rafael’s back.

Rafael turned, a look of sheer dread on his face. “Papa, what if Dad can’t make it home tonight?”

Max was tugging insistently on Magnus’ hand. “Papa, how will Santa know where Daddy is if we don’t go and tell him?”

Both Max and Rafael began trying to speak over the other, voices growing louder and louder as they fought to be heard. Magnus looked around the lobby as people started to look back at the boys as they carried on.

He got down on their level and held both of his hands up. Max and Rafael stopped trying to talk over each other, but Max continued on. “Papa, we _have to go see Santa!_ ”

“We can’t, Blueberry,” Magnus spoke softly as he pulled Max toward him, “it’s too late. But, we can leave him a note with his cookies and milk, okay?” He turned to Rafael who was no longer trying to be a big kid, no longer trying to hide that he was scared, that he was worried.

Magnus pulled Rafael toward him until he held both of his sons close. “I know you’re both scared, but Dad is okay. If he doesn’t make it home tonight then we’ll celebrate with Santa gifts tomorrow and wait until Dad comes home for the rest. Deal?”

Both Max and Rafael nodded and Magnus kissed them both on the cheek. “You want to make and decorate cookies for Santa this year?”

“Yeah!” Both Max and Rafael answered at the same time.

It would take most of the night, Magnus knew that. It would be messy and sugary and colorful, but if it helped to distract Max and Rafael until they were ready to go to bed, Magnus was willing to give it a try.

—

The roads had been worse than Alec had seen reported. Alec had nervously tried to check the time on his phone as they had crept along in a cab from the airport to the train station, but his phone had died not long after he had spoken to Rafael and Max.

The train was too cramped to try and bring out his laptop to charge his phone enough to message Magnus, to let him know that he would be home tonight, but his laptop was running on fumes as well and Alec realistically knew he likely wouldn’t get much of a charge out of it.

He turned to Luke. “You don’t have one of those portable charging things, do you?”

Luke looked over at Alec with an eyebrow raised. “Sadly, no. You keep things minimal when you’re deployed.”

“Right,” Alec mentally cursed himself. He should have guessed since Luke had nothing more than a military issue duffel bag with him.

This would make for one hell of a Christmas surprise.

Alec settled back into his seat as best as he could. He didn’t know why he had never considered looking into taking the train home, but he was thankful that Luke was just as motivated to make it home as he had been.

On more than one occasion throughout the day Alec had gotten the sense that running into Luke wasn’t just random. He could call Luke a godsend. He could say that this was a twist of fate.  But regardless of what he termed it, the one thing Alec couldn’t say was that this was coincidence.

“How long has it been since you’ve been back for Christmas?” Alec asked as the train rattled along the rails.

Luke let out a slow breath. “Years. My daughter was just going into middle school when I was taken off of reserves and put back on active duty.”

“That had to be tough on everyone.”

Luke nodded. “It hasn’t been easy, that’s true. But my daughter is feisty. Just like her mother.”

Alec smiled and shared a gentle, knowing laugh. It sounded like Rafael most days. He could have his moments where he was quiet, unsure, mature beyond his seven years, and dreaded people leaving, but he was stil as much of a fighter with an unbreakable spirit as Alec had ever seen. “Sounds like my son.”

Luke leaned his head back against the seat. “Tell me about them.”

It was a topic that once Alec got started on he would never stop. He sat quietly as he thought of where to start, how much to divulge. He felt comfortable with Luke, but there were parts of their story, Rafael’s especially, that Alec wasn’t sure he wanted to make known.

“Max is our first.” Alec started and smiled. Instinctively he reached for his phone to show Luke a photo of Max by himself before remembering the phone was dead. “We adopted him as a baby. He likes being around people and is pretty happy most days, but he doesn’t mind entertaining himself. He’s got this huge imagination and he’ll spend hours just dreaming up these fantastic worlds and characters. He spends a lot of time drawing them too, which makes my brother’s fiancé happy. Max hates seeing people unhappy, especially his brother.  He’ll climb up beside you and get close and look up at you with these big, happy, loving eyes and it’s impossible to not smile.”

Luke watched Alec with a knowing smile, the look on Alec’s face the exact same one that Luke had worn daily while watching his daughter grow up. It was the look of a man who didn’t have to be a father but who had still _chosen_ to raise someone else’s child, to love that child as his own. It was the look of a man who was ready to burst at the seams with love and pride in his kids. “So Max is your oldest?”

Alec shook his head. “No, Rafael is older, but we adopted Rafael after Max.”

Luke watched as Alec brought his hands up and began working his thumb at a spot in the middle of his palm. Alec seemed to be unaware that he was doing it, as though the movement was second nature to him. “What’s Rafael like?”

“Rafael is …” Alec slowly shook his head as he searched for the right combination of words, slowly exhaling a breath that he didn’t realize he was holding. “Rafael is complicated. And I’m not saying that to be evasive. Max’s mother was very, very young when he was born and loved the _idea_ of having a baby because they’re sweet and cute and cuddly, but she didn’t understand how much goes into taking care of a baby. Max was given up because his mother ultimately knew she couldn’t take care of him and wanted what was best for him.” Alec paused and looked down at his hands, thumb still working at his palm. “Rafael was removed from a bad situation. He was very quiet when he first came to us, very reluctant to open up and let us in. He’s still very reluctant to let us in sometimes but he opens up a bit easier now than he used to and we just have to wait for him to be ready to do it on his terms. He tends to be a bit more serious than Max, firmly grounded in reality and sometimes is far too mature for his age. It’s only been in the last several months that he’s started to realize that he can be a kid without feeling guilty about it, that he doesn’t have to be the grown up.”

Alec looked back at Luke. “And despite all of that, he’s still a sweet kid. He puts everything he has into everything he does and won’t accept anything less than perfection. He fights for what he wants because it’s all he knows. And man, is he sassy.”

He punctuated the end of his story with a laugh and a small shake of his head.

They passed the next few hours chatting easily as the train brought them closer and closer to home and Alec let out an audible sigh of relief as the train pulled into the station in Brooklyn. He checked his watch and saw that it was almost 9:00. He doubted that either Max or Rafael would still be awake when he finally did get home. Alec tried to keep his impatience at bay, still feeling so close but so far from home as they processed off of the train.

In the main terminal, Luke turned to Alec. “I guess this is where we go our own ways.”

Alec nodded. “I guess so,” he held out his hand, “thank you.”

Luke gripped Alec’s hand firmly as he nodded, saying nothing more as he turned to walk away.

Alec turned and had only gone a few yards before he looked back. “Luke!”

Across the crowded terminal, Luke turned and Alec started walking toward him.

“Are you sure I can’t pay you for the ticket?” Alec asked.

Luke grinned and shook his head. “Let it be my Christmas present to you, from one dad trying to get home to another.”

Alec smiled and nodded his thanks. “Merry Christmas, Luke.”

“Merry Christmas.” Luke nodded again and turned, disappearing into the crowd.

—

The last batch of cookies sat cooling on the kitchen counter.

Magnus had suggested making and decorating their own cookies downstairs in the lobby on a whim, but the realization up in the loft had been that they didn’t have what they needed to actually make or decorate cookies.

The overall emotion and weariness of the day had settled over Magnus and he had ducked into his study while Max and Rafael had turned on Christmas music and began dancing around the living room to The Chipmunks. Magnus had sat at his desk and ran his hands tiredly over his face, not caring that it would smudge what little makeup he had put on earlier in the day, before calling Catarina.

In what had seemed like no time at all, Catarina had arrived at his door bearing premade sugar cookie dough, cookie cutters, different colored icings, an assortment of Christmas themed sprinkles, and different colored sugars.

Max and Rafael had invited her to stay, to decorate cookies with them, and Catarina had agreed, though Magnus knew she couldn’t stay long. Despite the fact she hadn’t worked at the hospital on Christmas Eve in years she still volunteered her time at various clinics around the area.

Catarina was an angel and Magnus knew that he was lucky to have her as a friend.

“Max, that’s supposed to be Santa!” Magnus heard Rafael complain and he turned off the oven, crossing from the kitchen into the dining area where Max and Rafael were seated at the table, still decorating a never ending mountain of cookies.

“It can be anything, Raf! You just gotta use your ‘magination!” Max answered him and reached across the table for the purple icing.

“What are you making this one, Blueberry?” Magnus asked, resting his hand against Max’s back.

Max turned his head to look at Magnus with a bright smile. “An elf!”

Rafael sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Elves wear green, Max. Not purple.”

“Oh I don’t know, Raf,” Magnus tilted his head as he spoke, “purple seems to suit this little elf.”

Magnus looked up and winked and Rafael simply rolled his eyes, deeply offended that neither his little brother nor his father would listen to his expert advice on elf fashion. He reached for an undecorated cookie in the shape of a stocking and took a bite.

Max finished off his elf cookie with a generous sprinkling of silver colored sugar and set it on a plate off to the side before reaching for a snowflake shaped cookie.

While Max and Rafael continued to decorate, Magnus took the full plate of decorated cookies into the kitchen to set them off to the side. They would be eating Christmas cookies until Easter. Unless, of course, they gave the majority away to everyone at Christmas dinner tomorrow.

Magnus heard a commotion out in the dining area and dashed out of the kitchen to see Alec crouching down, still with his coat and scarf on, suitcase on the floor at his side, as Max and Rafael rushed toward him and threw themselves into his arms as Chairman Meow scurried onto the couch for safety.

All of the anger, worry, and stress from the day melted away as Magnus took in the sight, both boys with their arms around Alec’s neck, trying to talk over each other again and Alec grinning as he tried to focus on what both were saying.

“Come decorate cookies with us?” Rafael asked as he and Max both again stopped trying to talk over each other.

Alec looked toward Magnus before smiling again. “You know what? Santa is on his way. You two need to get cleaned up and put your pajamas on.”

“But, Dad! You said we could stay up later tonight.” Rafael groaned.

“No, I said you could stay up until I got home,” Alec reminded him and leaned in to kiss his cheek.

Rafael rolled his eyes again. “Fine! Come on, Max, let’s go.”

Alec laughed softly and shook his head, standing as Max and Rafael turned and disappeared down the hall. He unzipped his jacket and unwrapped his scarf from around his neck, draping them over the back of the couch as he crossed the room toward Magnus. He didn’t know whether to start with a hello or an apology.

“Long day?” Magnus asked, starting to put the caps back on each tube of icing. He could feel Alec’s eyes on him, could feel Alec’s warmth as he came up beside him, standing close.

“Probably not as long as yours,” Alec’s voice was low as he spoke, and Magnus looked up to see Alec looking at him apologetically from under long lashes. It was a look that always caused Magnus to come undone.

He turned and let Alec pull him in close, exhaling a slow breath as he locked his arms around Alec. Magnus knew he could pretend to be angry, could let this all bubble up and ruin the holiday but that wasn’t what was important.

What was important was that Alec had made it home.

“Nothing I couldn’t handle.” Magnus answered airily with a shrug of his shoulders.

It seemed to have the desired effect and caused Alec to roll his eyes, though his face split into an easy grin. He kept Magnus close as he looked at the mess on the table. “Do you want help cleaning this up?”

Magnus shook his head. “No, I can get it. Go see the boys. I will have plenty of time to have you to myself once they’re asleep.”

“Do they ever sleep on Christmas Eve?” Alec asked, quite seriously, but dropped a playful kiss on Magnus’ lips before he released Magnus from his arms and left in search of Max and Rafael.

—

Max had ended up needing a bath. Alec wasn’t sure how it had happened, but Max had managed to get bright pink icing in his hair.

Now he found himself sitting up in Rafael’s bed, his long legs stretched out in front of him with Rafael curled up against his side and Max in his lap. He closed “'Twas the Night Before Christmas” and looked at Rafael and then at Max, both of them sound asleep.

He wasn’t entirely sure how he would maneuver his way off of the bed without waking one or both of them up, but very slowly and very carefully he managed to shift away from Rafael (who turned over in his sleep but never woke up) and stood with Max tucked carefully against him.

He closed Rafael’s door behind him and tucked Max into his own bed, and it was a Christmas miracle in and of itself that he didn’t wake Max up either.

In the hallway, Alec could hear that Magnus had changed the music from what Rafael and Max had been listening to earlier to their own mix of Christmas music.

He heard Magnus still moving around the kitchen, but instead of going to finish helping clean up Alec ducked into their bedroom and dug out the presents that they had stashed in their closet. He could at least set them out under the tree until Magnus was finished.

It wasn’t long before he heard footsteps behind him and looked up to see Magnus with two mugs of hot chocolate, complete with a perfect topping of whipped cream.

“Drink break?” Magnus asked as he came closer to the couch.

Alec arranged the last gift under the tree and stood, crossing the distance between them and taking the mug Magnus offered to him, the hot ceramic pleasantly warming his palms. “Tell me this has a little something extra in it?”

“Possibly,” Magnus answered coyly as he sat gracefully on the couch, crossing one leg over the other.

Alec took a slow sip and closed his eyes happily at the just the hint of peppermint mixed with the chocolate. “Mm. Perfect.”

The song changed and a smooth voice began to sing without music as Alec moved toward the couch to sit with Magnus.

 _How appropriate_ he thought and set his drink down as soft piano notes faded into the song. Alec reached for Magnus’ cup and set it beside his on the table. He grinned when he turned back and saw Magnus watching him with one eyebrow raised, wondering what Alec had planned. It wasn’t often that Alec could surprise Magnus, but when he managed to it was worth it. Alec took hold of Magnus’ hands and slowly pulled him up off of the couch, backing up toward an open area of the living room near the tree. He pulled Magnus in close, his arms locking around him as he started to sway along with the slow, jazzy tempo of the music.

“ _Home for Christmas_. How fitting.” Magnus grinned, letting Alec move them. He knew that Alec wasn’t a dancer and tried to avoid it whenever he could so Magnus was going to enjoy the moment, savor the subtle way that Alec continued to try and apologize.

“Are you angry?” Alec asked as the song moved into a jazzy instrumental interlude.

Magnus focused on one of the buttons on Alec’s shirt, considering his answer. “No, but I would have been if you hadn’t made it home.”

It wasn’t what Alec had expected to hear but it was the best he could have hoped for.

“Speaking of,” Magnus teased his finger at the button he had been staring at the last couple of  moments, “how did you make it home? All flights were still grounded when I checked last.”

Alec smiled and shook his head, drawing Magnus in tighter. “I was sitting in the Starbucks on the concourse when this guy in the military came up and asked if he could sit with me. He was trying to get home to his family too, and somehow he managed to find tickets for the train.”

“Too bad we don’t know him,” Magnus looked up at Alec, “we could have sent him a bottle of wine to say thanks.”

Alec didn’t know how to explain feeling like he _had_ known Luke but couldn’t tell from where. And how he had felt that the train tickets should have been his gift to Luke as a way to thank him for his service.

But that moment had passed so Alec closed his eyes as Magnus rested his head against Alec’s shoulder, both of them getting lost in the song.

—

Alec woke up to soft white light pouring into the bedroom, no doubt from the early morning sun reflecting off of the snow that had fallen overnight. His phone was buzzing on the table beside the bed, much to the Chairman’s dismay. Alec thought about leaving it be for the moment, rolling over, and curling up against Magnus, but it buzzed again and Alec reached for it before Chairman had the chance to show his displeasure at being woken up by batting it off of the nightstand. He saw the messages from Clary on his lock screen and couldn’t begin to think of what she could be messaging him for since they would see her at her and Jace’s place for dinner later, but even so Alec unlocked the phone and pulled up the messages.

The first message contained a video and Alec kept the volume low as he played it, watching as Clary and Jocelyn were in the middle of a discussion with each other but turned at the sound of a voice that Alec recognized and he saw a very handsome black man in military uniform walking into the frame only to be almost immediately ambushed by Clary throwing her arms around him with Jocelyn close behind.

It was Luke. And he had been on his way home to Clary and Jocelyn.

When the video had finished, Alec looked at the next message — a photo of Clary and Luke by the tree that Clary had taken herself.

 _Thanks for keeping my dad company on the way home_ the message beneath the photo read and Alec had to inhale a deep breath to keep everything together.

The sense of familiarity Alec had struggled to place all day the day before, of feeling like he had known Luke for years, all suddenly made sense. He had heard Clary talk about Luke for ages, had seen photos in passing whenever they had gone to Jace and Clary’s apartment, but having never met Luke in person before Alec hadn’t been able to piece together all of the small details that had settled into the deepest corners of his memory.

Alec wondered now how Luke had known who he was, how Jace and Clary connected them. And he wondered why Luke hadn’t brought it up.

Alec felt the soft brush of lips at the back of his neck as Magnus’ hand ran along his side, causing him to shiver. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Alec answered in a morning rough voice as he turned onto his back and held up the photo for Magnus to see. “I apparently rode the train home with Clary’s stepdad last night without realizing it was her stepdad.”

Magnus settled in against Alec’s shoulder, laying his head on the vacant part of Alec’s pillow as he looked at the photo before closing his eyes again, his hand resting on Alec’s chest. “Remind me to take him a very nice bottle of wine when we go to dinner later.”

Alec laughed softly and turned his head, gently bumping his nose against Magnus’ before brushing a kiss over his forehead and closing his eyes again. He was determined to sleep as late as Max and Rafael would let them.

But the sound of footsteps running down the hall told Alec that desire to sleep in was going to be short lived.

“Incoming,” he whispered to Magnus as Max and Rafael burst through the door to their bedroom and found their way up onto the bed.

“They’re all yours today,” Magnus grumbled as Max landed between them and Rafael knelt on the other side of him.

“SANTA CAME!” they both exclaimed as Rafael nudged at Magnus’ shoulder.

“Come on, Daddy! Get up!” Max demanded as he bounced on the bed between Alec and Magnus. He lost his balance mid-bounce and fell to the side, his elbow hitting just below Alec’s ribs.

Alec sucked in a breath and grimaced but didn’t cry out in pain. He didn’t yell. He remembered how Isabelle and Jace were always the ones who were excitable on Christmas and Max reminded him of them. And Max’s and Rafael’s excitement always made Christmas a little more magical to Alec.

“Why don’t you two go turn on the Christmas tree lights and give Papa and I a few minutes to wake up,” Alec suggested patiently, rubbing at his ribs.

Rafael jumped off of the bed and Max followed, heading toward the door. Chairman jumped down from his perch on Alec’s nightstand and followed after them, tail in the air.

“Don’t get into anything until we come out there,” Magnus called after them, his eyes still closed and still sharing Alec’s pillow.

Alec closed his eyes again briefly, bringing his hand up to cover Magnus’ where it still rested on his chest, not entirely ready to get out of bed yet.

“Dad, come look! It’s snowing!” Rafael called from the living room and Alec smiled as he opened his eyes again.

He knew he could have woken up to a very different Christmas morning, surrounded by other stranded travelers in a crowded airport. But instead he was right where he had been meant to be.

He was home.

  


**Author's Note:**

> Your feedback - comments/kudos/love/tweets/asks - are all appreciated and never fail to put a smile on my face. 
> 
> Find me on [tumblr](http://magicandarchery.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/magicandarchery)


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